Thursday 15 March 2012 10.34 EDT
First published on Thursday 15 March 2012 10.34 EDT

The British Boxing Board of Control got it absolutely right by taking away Dereck Chisora's licence for an indefinite period for brawling with David Haye in Munich last month. But the saga is not over for the most volatile heavyweight in the fight game. Nor can Haye rest easy just yet.

Chisora has to appear before the World Boxing Council in London on Wednesday to argue why it should give him back the $100,000 (£64,000) it withheld from his purse after what the fighter himself admitted was "inexcusable" behaviour before, during and after his world title fight against Vitali Klitschko.

As a result of his slapping, spitting and brawling in Munich, not to mention his threats to shoot Haye, the WBC also withdrew Chisora's right to fight for any of its titles. At the moment, it is a largely academic sanction as he has no licence to box in the UK nor any immediate prospects of fighting elsewhere, although that could change.

There is an obvious dilemma for Chisora: he is 28, has a mother who is seriously distressed by his behaviour, and he has to earn a living – yet if he applies for a licence to box in another country he will give the impression that he is snubbing the British board. That would do his chances of regaining his licence no good at all, although two convictions for assault, as well as a previous ban for biting an opponent in the ring, suggest chastisement does not leave much impression on him.

Chisora and his promoter, Frank Warren – who are considering whether or not to appeal against the suspension of his British licence – resent what they consider the WBC's heavy-handed intervention. They have a point; the Mexico-based organisation, whose title Klitschko holds, handed down its verdict without even talking to the fighter.

However, when the British board went through due process at a four-hour hearing at its Cardiff headquarters on Wednesday, it came to the conclusion that Chisora was "not a fit and proper person" to hold a boxer's licence. That is as damning as it sounds. Boxing is a dangerous and serious undertaking, and licences are not granted lightly. Chisora expressed sorrow and regret for what he did, but the evidence of his actions will not easily be forgotten. Amateur film of it is embedded in the memory through repeated versions from all angles on the internet and social media networks.

He is both a child of his generation and a victim of it. He has a sense of entitlement he has not earned. Nobody should think they can cross the boundaries of accepted behaviour and escape punishment. The Munich police have not concluded their investigations and could yet bring charges against both boxers that could result in their imprisonment.

Now Haye will wonder what is to become of him. Whatever his part in the fracas, his indifference about appearing before either the board or the police in Germany does him little credit. Running away from the fight scene and catching an early flight back to London – supposedly in fear of his life – then flaunting his high-profile departure to Las Vegas for some "party time!", as he described it, with photos, on Twitter, did not send out a message of contrition. Haye, too, seems to consider himself above his sport, the law and, for what it's worth, public opinion.

Haye, whose licence lapsed when he retired last October on his 31st birthday, will take heed from Wednesday's ruling and may not bother to reapply, because the board's language was unequivocal. It is hard to imagine they would be much more lenient on him. If he were to join Chisora in exile they could no doubt go about their business without a care, perhaps even resume their tawdry brawl.

While Haye has pleaded self-defence after being confronted aggressively by Chisora, he would nevertheless have to explain why he chose to swing a camera tripod so recklessly that he accidentally cut the head of his own trainer, Adam Booth, and might easily have caused more serious injury to anyone in the crowded space.

Neither boxer emerged with credit; neither can complain with any conviction. Chisora made a fight highly likely by leaving his seat and marching towards Haye with his team in close attendance, like some Wild West gunslinger. Haye (already pilloried for his bruised-toe excuse after losing to Wladimir Klitschko last July) will have thought he could not walk away and keep face.

There are scenes like that in pubs everywhere every night of the week. But these are professional boxers – or at least they were when they had licences. Chisora told Booth in the immediate aftermath of the brawl that he would fight Haye anywhere, any time, inside or outside the ring, that he had the better posse. That threat was as empty as it was puerile.

Chisora and Haye have a duty to a sport that gives them a comfortable living, as well as a responsibility to set an example to thousands of boxers throughout the country. Who knows how many impressionable young amateurs will feel emboldened to act in a similarly disgraceful way?

The board secretary, Robert Smith, said the ban – for that is effectively what it is – could last "for a few years", although time heals a lot of wounds. In all probability, Chisora will go away, perhaps box abroad, and return in a year's time and be told to behave himself. Amnesia is a calming balm in professional boxing.

Someone who has known Chisora since he arrived in Britain as a wild teenager from Zimbabwe 12 years ago told me this week there is a warm, engaging side to him. He cares what people think about him. He is sensitive. He is, in short, misunderstood. With the best will in the world, that saintly Chisora has not been much in evidence the past month or so.